At this point, those of you who don’t have a great deal of technical knowledge are probably wondering “What exactly is a non-Unicode Application, and why would I want to run it?” A Non-Unicode application is, essentially, any program that’s not written in the default language of the Windows platform. That’s a horrifically simplified...

Here’s the scenario: you buy yourself a shiny new computer for work/school/personal use (nothing illicit, I hope), and after unboxing it and turning it on you realize it’s missing a plethora of stuff you actually kinda need. Maybe it shipped without Microsoft Office (I’ve seen a few systems that, for one reason or another, don’t actually...

Let’s say you’re using Google Chrome…but for some reason, you hate Google search. I have no idea why you would – maybe you had a bad experience involving Google Images. Because hey, let’s face it, there are some things you should never search for. No, I’m not compiling a list. Of course, maybe it has nothing to do with...

The problem with email is that even if you’re careful, your account might fall victim to hackers. They employ some rather creative methods in order to steal information. Recently, a relative of mine had their email ‘taken over’ by malicious outsiders. They didn’t really do all that much – mostly just used it to send everyone a false...

Now that you’re all settled in at your new place (and in possession of the hard-earned knowledge that metal and microwaves don’t mix), it’s time to get your internet up and running. The process of getting the internet set up and running is fairly straightforward (just make sure you do a bit of research on all the possible providers before...

There are many reasons to use Skype. Free multi-user audio calls between PCs, video chat with quick and easy connectivity, and (if you’re willing to pay) multi-user video chat and PC-to-phone audio calls. Of course, there are also quite a few reasons why you might not want to use Skype. Aside from its recent acquisition by Microsoft (maybe you’ve got...

The sort of system you use for your computing needs speaks volumes about who you are as a person, but it’s not the only thing that does. One of the best ways to tell what sort of user someone is – aside from examining their system – is to simply look at their desk. Where you work and play is as telling as what you use to accomplish both...

If you spend any time in the blogosphere at all, you’ve probably heard at least one person make reference to SOPA- the Stop Online Piracy Act. See, businesses are at the end of their ropes- no matter how many people they sue or how many file-sharing websites they take down, more pirates always crop up, using the ‘persecution’ they feel along...

So, you want a bit more storage space for your files, do you? Got too much music? Too many movies? Too much material of an illicit nature? Whatever the reason, you’re going to want an external hard drive. And in much the same way as a computer, you’re going to want to care for it and maintain it. External drives might not require as much maintenance...

If you hang out on the ‘net at all, you’ve probably heard of this weird little website (well, maybe not so little- it’s got over one hundred seventy-five million users at the time of writing this) called Twitter, represented by a tiny bluebird. You’re not quite sure what to make of it. What’s it about? Why do people use it? And...

It’s that time of the year again. First year University students are stumbling into post-secondary institutions, wide-eyed and scared, with no idea of what they’re doing, where they’re going or how they’re going to get there. Those who’ve been in the institution for a while are shaking off the after-effects of a summer of binge...

Minecraft. At the mention of that word, I’ll guarantee half of you felt at least a minor jolt of excitement, while the other half either shrugged apathetically or scratched their heads in confusion. For those of you who don’t know, Minecraft is quite possibly one of the most popular indie games around. While still in beta, it gathered over ten...

So, you’re probably aware that you can either stream or directly load media files onto your Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. It’s a pretty handy feature. Say you’ve got yourself a movie, or a television series that you’ve purchased in digital format. Rather than having to watch it on the small screen of your computer or laptop you can set them...

If you’re the sentimental sort, you probably have a computer you’ve owned for years and years. It’s a reliable old rig, chugging along through whatever tasks you assign it like an old, puttering station wagon. Sure, it might not be the most glorious system out there, but it works, right? It does what you want it to do. That’s the worst...

I always find it fairly shocking how many people don’t seem to particularly care about keeping their email accounts safe and secure. Whether or not they’re trying to keep their computer safe in other ways, email seems to be neglected more often than not. Given how much personal information – passwords, website data, even financial stuff...